We hope that you will enjoy the events we have planned for this year. We hope to offer one event a month. The order of the events is yet to be decided but watch this space for further news!

If you are interested in joining the group, please see Sue at a WI meeting or register your interest using the contact us form. Please note sub-groups are for Camberley WI members only. If you have any ideas or suggestions then please pass them onto us and we will see if we can incorporate them into the schedule.

2018

12th June: Coach Outing to Brighton, including Fish & Chip lunch

15th May: Afternoon Tea on the Watercress Line

A serious quantity of scones and tea were consumed during a great trip on the Watercress Line.

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26th April: Royal Hospital Chelsea - Tour led by a Chelsea Pensioner

Interesting tour of this lovely building, with amusing tales from residents Bill and Brian.

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8th March: Private tour of Woking Mosque

Fascinating tour of the oldest purpose built mosque in the UK, followed by a very frank Q & A session from our guide and the Imam.

Who knew this place existed in the middle of Farnborough? Empress Eugenie and Napoleon III buried in the crypt here. Benedictine Monks live in the huge gothic building on this site, and there's even a farm with sheep from which they earn an income! Extraordinary place.

2015

July 2nd: Lavender Fields and here we are........

and these are the lavender fields....

May 20: Greys Court

April 29th: Newlyns Cookery School

March 4th: Milestones Museum, Basingstoke

2014

November: Annie Hunt did a 'Bake Off'! A select few Out & About members (those who answered their emails immediately) were invited to Fiona's house to watch Annie demonstrate some ideal dishes to serve at Christmas

July 16th: BBC Broadcasting House

The Out and About Group have fun at the BBC!

June 12: RMA Sandhurst

April: Visit to the Poppy Factory, Richmond - Tuesday April 1st at 10am

This turned out to be a very popular Out and About event. 25 of us turned up at the Poppy Factory in Richmond to hear the history of the Remembrance Poppy. We saw how the different wreaths are made for each member of the Royal Family (they are burnt after use so cannot be recycled!) then went into the factory and spoke to the people who make every one of the multitude of poppies sold each year. In fact we each made our own poppy which we will wear with pride in November (giving a donation too, of course). By the time we left the weather was lovely and warm so several of us stayed in Richmond for a sunny lunch.

and to prove it.........a valiant group, plus the instructor, then going up, up and up!

January: Watts Gallery, Chapel and Limnerslease House in Compton - Thursday 23 January

2013

December: Christmas Quiz at the Crab & Dragon: Whehaaay! We came third!

November's outing will be to Winchester's Christmas Market. November 29th.

October: Jane Austen's House, Chawton

This was a visit to Jane Austen's house in Chawton. The weather was lovely and we had a very enjoyable and informative look around the house. It became more interesting when we heard that Alan Titchmarch was there. Not, surprisingly, because of us, but he was there to plant a Pride and Prejudice rose in the garden. Of course we had to go and watch him and asked him if he would mind having his photo taken with us. He was very obliging, as you can see, in spite of one WI member (she knows who she is!) not really wanting to have her photo taken with him and making it clear she would prefer to have spoken to Mr Harkness! Alan took it in very good spirit and said he knew his place! We then trooped over to the coffee house opposite and had a very good lunch with much hilarity and discussion of our day.

September: Newlyns Cookery School

An extremely pleasant and informative morning spent learning to cook various meals - and how to prepare some of them in advance - and with lunch thrown in! Excellent outing.

July: La Di Da Cake Shop

Just in the town, not too far to go, and it was our largest turn out yet! Everybody must have registered this year's WI Resolution to 'Support Our High Streets'.

June: Trip to Highgrove

Our trip to Highgrove had finally arrived. We were hoping that it wasn't going to rain and we were extremely lucky as the sun shone for us. Many of us weren't sure what to expect when we got to Highgrove, I think we all had preconceptions about the gardens being very formal. We were shown around the gardens by a very knowledgeable guide. The gardens were, in my view, spectacular and as Prince Charles' view is "Let it be" there were weeds around which made me feel very much at home! However, as you would expect, having 12 full time gardeners does help! We were all inspired by them and throughly enjoyed the tour. It was such a shame that we were not allowed to take any photos. We had lunch outside in the sunshine and some people were sipping champagne! We then finished our trip with a visit to the Highgrove shop.

A very memorable day and lots of ideas for our own gardens. Definitely worth visiting. Sue Kemp

No cameras allowed so this photo was taken by the coach driver in front of one of HRH's fields!

May: Trip to Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking

Not strictly speaking an Out and About event as it was arranged so long ago the Out and About group was barely in existance! But WI members went out and about so we'll put it in this section.

21 WI members and one husband visited Denbies and enjoyed a tour of the vineyard and a wine tasting, this included a train journey around the estate, including the cellars where the wine is put into steel vats and bottled. Last year 400,000 bottles of wine were produced from over 300,000 vines that are grown in 265 acres, a quarter of the estate, the rest is woodland. They grow 13 different types of white grapes and 5 red ones. In 1984 a Dr Selly, a Dorking resident and a Professor of Geology, noticed that the chalky soil was exactly like the Champagne regions of France. With the added protection of Box Hill and the surrounding South Down Hills he suggested that the owners plant vines and make wine.

Due to the bad weather no red wines have been made for the last two years. Fingers crossed Denbies hope to have the Sauvignon Blanc ready for this year's harvest! The tour ended with an amusing and informative talk about the wines from our host Mona and we sampled three different wines. Everyone enjoyed all three wines and a few were carried home by one and all. (People or bottles? Ed)

May: Trip to Dorney Court:

A group of us visited Dorney Court near Eton. It is a beautiful medieval listed building which has been in the same family, the Palmers, for over 450 years. We started the afternoon by having lunch in the garden centre then had a guided tour of the house and church. This was led by a Palmer family member who was incredibly informative about the history of Dorney Court and its occupants. Different generations throughout the house's history have added to the house making it very unusual and quirky. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour and learning about Dorney Court's history. It is a beautiful house but we all decided that we liked our modern homes with central heating and all mod cons! If you get a chance we would highly recommend a visit.

Tour of Guildford Cathedral Thursday 7th FebruaryThis was the first time I'd been inside Guildford Cathedral and was impressed by the amount of light inside. The Cathedral was designed by Edward Maufe and he was appointed Cathedral Architect in 1933. In April 1933, a cross was erected on Stag Hill to mark the site of the new Cathedral. It was made from teak timbers from the battleship HMS Ganges. The Ganges cross still stands today outside the Cathedral at the eastern end. The foundation stone was laid in 1936 and despite many setbacks and difficulties including the war years and lack of funds, the Cathedral was finally consecrated in May 1961!

The tour highlighted how little I knew about Cathedrals including the Bishop's chair which is called the Cathedra (greek for seat), hence the origins of the word Cathedral. It included a visit to the Treasury - an amazing collection dating back over the last few centuries. We finished with a coffee in The Refectory and a walk around the gardens. I can highly recommend a visit here.

Review of The Clink Sutton, by Jackie Magness

This was the first visit by the WI from Camberley to The Clink and we all enjoyed the experience of being in a Prison restaurant. The food was excellent, the ambience of the room very well planned out and the decoration was made by other prison staff. The actual concept of this project is very positive for the inmates. They have just developed a new one in Cardiff.The standard of service was very high than in some of our local restaurants.

The inmates seem to take great pride in what they were doing and their ultimate aim is to achieve their NVQ and walk into a job once back in the big wide world.They had no problems with being open to us about why they were there. If you get the opportunity to eat here please go. The Clink staff employed by the charity who care for bookings and deal with the necessary meet and greet procedures enhance this eating experience. Well done to the team.